Tag: Tobacco Rag Processors

Tobacco Rag Processors (TRP) and Kentucky Cut Rag, a wholly owned subsidiary of G.F. Vaughan Tobacco Co., have completed merger of their cut-rag operations. The combined company will operate out of Tobacco Rag’s Wilson, North Carolina, USA, headquarters. Derek Vaughan and Conrad Whitaker will join Tobacco Rag as consultants under long-term agreements.

“We are extremely pleased with the combination of our two businesses,” says TRP CEO Davis Miller. “Kentucky Cut Rag and its team are well known in the industry for providing top-quality blends and excellent customer service. The addition of Derek and Conrad to our team as well as a stronger partnership with Vaughan Tobacco Company further ensures our access to top-quality Brazilian and U.S. tobaccos, enabling us to continue providing our customers with consistent blends at competitive prices.”

“We at Vaughan Tobacco Company are excited with the merger of Kentucky Cut Rag and Tobacco Rag,” says Derek Vaughan, CEO of G.F. Vaughan Tobacco Co. “Our two companies share common values and a strategic vision of innovation and quality-driven performance aimed at helping our customers deliver superior products and reduce costs in a competitive market.

“Our customers will benefit from the investments Tobacco Rag has made in a state of the art dry-ice expanded tobacco operation, upgraded primary equipment and an enhanced blend development and quality control team. Conrad and I are excited to be a part of the team that will continue to lead the cut-rag industry for years to come.”

The DIET operation expands the cells of cut filler by using a high-pressure carbon dioxide-impregnation system. The carbon dioxide is then captured and reused. The benefit of expanded tobacco is higher volume and greater filling power while maintaining the same weight and taste.

“DIET tobacco has the ability to provide dramatic cost savings and stabilized deliveries on finished cigar, cigarette, pipe and roll-your-own products without sacrificing quality,” says Davis Miller, CEO of TRP. “We anticipate that by offering customers expanded tobacco in our cut filler products, we will continue to grow our business in the face of continuing governmental regulations and higher excise taxes.”

TRP expects to hire 25 additional people for the DIET plant. Currently, the company employs more than 100 employees in eastern North Carolina, spread among its cut filler operation, NC Filter and Recon USA joint venture.